Last summer vacation I applied for an industrial-educational cooperation internship that trains students to become
tourism specialists. This program is sponsored by the Tourism Sciences Society of Korea and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. I was a little afraid because I would compete with university students nationwide, but the
challenge and the waiting made me throb with excitement. The e-mail containing the result arrived at last, and, trying
to calm myself, I opened it. The answer was-- “Congratulations! You have been selected as an intern.”
I chose ‘Hana Tour’ instead of Paradise and Hilton Hotel. The company that I’m interested in is headquartered in
Seoul, and I wanted to live in Seoul. So my Seoul life began.
In consideration of students from the provinces, the Tourism Sciences Society of Korea offered paid travel to Seoul
and accommodations for the length of the orientation. Thirty interns, including those for Paradise and Hilton Hotel,
attended a lecture from a hotelier and a flight attendant from Asiana Airlines at Korea Tourism Organization’s
T2 academy. After the lectures and study of a book related to tourism, there were discussions among the interns in
groups. I participated in the Hana Tour intern group. On the last day, we presented a plan for the ‘feasible direction of
a travel agency.’ My most unforgettable memory is the work we did in making up a report by putting our heads together in the hotel. It was a creation that came solely from our heads without the help of the Internet, so we were very proud of ourselves and liked the report. In addition, in the process of discussion, we could be closer than before.
After the orientation, I worked at the headquarters of Hana Tour. I thought Hana Tour was a young, open-minded
company, so the business atmosphere was bright and non-hierarchical among employees. I was assigned to the
‘Strategic Planning Department.’ If the company can be compared to a ship, then this department corresponds to the
bridge. That is, it is the place where the direction of the company is decided. I obviously wasn’t in charge of any
important tasks as an intern, but it was a good opportunity to know what strategic planning is, which I had always
thought of as an abstraction. I observed firsthand the process by which strategic planning is done. It involved
gathering and searching data, receiving input and information from branch offices all over the world. While the other
students were assigned to divisions like Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Europe, I was sent to work in an unfamiliar
area. So I worried about it at first, but that disappeared as soon as I got there. Rather, I didn’t want to be rotated to
another department after a month because the people who worked there were really kind to me and taught me in detail about their business.
In August, I worked with the Indochina team in the Southeast Asia division. I was responsible for roughly three
things--packaging clients’ travel preparation materials, taking tickets from Asiana Airlines, bringing mail. The people
here also took care of me well, although they were busy, so I was really grateful. I was satisfied that I could get hands-on travel agency work experience through this division.
After finishing the internship, I can think of only one bad thing about my entire experience, which was that I had to
write almost the same work entry most of the time in a business diary. It would have been better if I had learned more
and various works from the diverse staff in their respective divisions. The good thing is that, in my case, I could
experience both managerial work in the strategic planning department and practical work in tourism in the Southeast
Asia division.
I experienced working in a travel agency, got a taste of Seoul life, acquired some knowledge of how to live alone,
and received a certificate stamped by Yoo In-chon, the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, through this
internship. Above all, I won’t forget the invaluable Hana Tour staff and my intern friends.
By Head of English News Section,
Kim Yeon-jeong
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